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‘Construction of Statue of Equality predates Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’: Union Minister G Kishan Reddy responds to Rahul Gandhi’s ‘China-Nirbhar’ barb

OpIndia Staff
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‘Construction of Statue of Equality predates Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’: Union Minister G Kishan Reddy responds to Rahul Gandhi’s ‘China-Nirbhar’ barb

The attempt by Rahul Gandhi to politicise the Prime Minister’s recent event in Hyderabad where he unveiled the Statue of Equality of Saint Sri Ramanujacharya seems to have backfired as he was firmly rebutted by the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of North-Eastern Region, G Kishan Reddy

Earlier in the day, the Congress Member of Parliament (MP) from Wayanad, Kerala had tweeted, “Statue of Equality is Made in China. ‘New India’ is China-nirbhar?” This came after media reports saying that the Statue of Equality was made in China.

The Minister of Culture, Tourism and DoNER, G Kishan Reddy responded stating that the Statue of Equality was commissioned more than 8 years ago when the Congress was in Government both at the Centre and in the state of Telangana. Reddy also pointed out that as it was a private spiritual entity that had built the statue and that the government did not have any say in where they chose to source the material from or where they built it.

The Minister tweeted “1. Statue of Equality is a project of a private spiritual entity conceived 8+ years ago. 2. At that time Congress was in power in both centre & state. 3. 100% funds were raised privately & GoI provided NO financial support. 4. The statue preceded PM’s call for Atmanirbhar Bharat”.

It is notable that My Home Group of Industries, a private company, had signed a contract with a Chinese firm for the construction of the statue. The company had also donated the land where the statue has been installed, and the entire cost of the project, around ₹1000 crore, has been met with donations from the public.

The Government had provided no funding as the entire amount was raised privately. The Minister also pointed out the chronology as the Prime Minister had announced the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan (Self-reliant India campaign) in 2020 and the statue of EQuality preceded this campaign. It may be worth noting that it was on 12 May 2020 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised a call to the nation giving a kick start to Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. On that day he announced the Special economic and comprehensive package of INR 20 lakh crores – equivalent to 10% of India’s GDP – to fight COVID-19 pandemic in India.

Union Minister G Kishan Reddy also said that this trigger-happy tweeting only exposes Rahul Gandhi’s own ignorance and shallowness. The Minister also stated that these continued statements by Rahul Gandhi without knowing facts continues to sink himself and reduce his party to dust. The Minister also alluded to the Memorandum of Understanding that the Congress party had signed with the Communist Party of China, saying “It’s also quite ironical coming from a party that signed an MoU with the CPC”.

On the 5th of February, the Prime Minister was in Hyderabad to inaugurate the 216-feet tall ‘Statue of Equality’ that commemorates the 11th-century Bhakti Saint Sri Ramanujacharya. The Chief Minister of Telangana, K. Chandrashekhar Rao had skipped welcoming the Prime Minister at the airport and chose to send Mr. Talasani Srinivas Yadav, Minister of Fisheries as the Minister-in-Waiting to receive the Prime Minister. The Chief Minister and his son were conspicuously absent from the inauguration event.

There is enough evidence to state that the Statue of Equality was conceived when the Congress Party was in power at both the Centre and the state. The website of the Statue of Equality states that “HH Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji laid the foundation stone for 216 Feet “Statue of Equality – Samatha Murthi”  in the sprawling new 45 acre area in JIVA Campus in Sri Ramanagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad on 2014 May 2nd Akshaya Thruthiya Day – One of the most auspicious days in a year, the day on which any good program started will meet with great success.”

The Lok Sabha results were announced only on 16th May 2014 which brought the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form the government at the Centre with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister. Moreover, as the foundation stone was laid on 2nd May, it means the statue was planned much ahead. The Twitter account of the state of equality also shows that it was created in March 2014 showing that a significant amount of planning was already done.

It is notable that the construction of large metal statues is a highly specialised job, with very limited orders in a year. Therefore, there are only a few Chinese companies with expertise in this field. The website of the Statue of Equality states that initially, they had approached Chinese firm Aerosun Corporation Art Statue Sub-Company, as this company is most prominent in the field. However, later few more Chinese companies, and an Indian company had also joined the bid. After considering all the proposals, the contract with signed with Aerosun for the construction of the statue. The MoU with the company was signed on 14th August 2015.

During the construction of the Statue of Unity also, the world’s tallest statue, it was claimed by the Congress party that it was made in China. However, that was a fake claim, as most of the work for the statue was done by Indian firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in India. However, the outer bronze layer of the statute was made by a Chinese firm, for same reason as stated above, only a few Chinese firms have the expertise needed for that job. It was found that none of the 15 major bronze foundries in India was capable of building the outer cladding, after which L&T had initiated global tenders.

Petition filed in Madras HC seeking directions against Tamil Nadu govt’s discriminatory demolition policy towards temples

OpIndia Staff
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Petition filed in Madras HC seeking directions against Tamil Nadu govt’s discriminatory demolition policy towards temples

A petition has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking the court to give directions to the Tamil Nadu government for the regularisation and relocation of temples constructed on poramboke lands (government lands) and water bodies.

The Madras High Court bench of Acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy heard a PIL filed by T Elango, leader of Hindu Munnani in Tamil Nadu, who sought directions against the DMK-led state government. The petitioner said that the ongoing temple demolition drive by the state government was motivated and not based on any transparent policy. The petitioner also sought a stay on the demolition drive by the state.

Senior Advocate Sai Deepak, appearing for T. Elango, urged the High Court to intervene and direct the state government to submit the guidelines it follows to carry out the demolition of unauthorised religious structures.

The counsel referred to previous Supreme Court judgements that directed the states and union territories not to entertain illegal religious constructions on public streets, public parks or other public places. Advocate Sai Deepak argued that the concerned High Courts should supervise the implementation of this order.

According to the petitioners, more than two dozen temples have been demolished in the last two months. Recently, the Stalin-led DMK government in Tamil Nadu had also destroyed a 40-year-old temple structure by claiming that it was situated near a waterbody. Similarly, the government authorities bulldozed a 1000-year-old temple in Thanjavur.

The petitioners argued that there were two issues pertaining to the demolition drive. First is compliance with the apex court order about framing the policy for dealing with illegal religious structures—secondly, the discriminatory nature of the ongoing demolition drive that targets temples alone.

The petitioners also stated that the current demolition drive targeted the temples alone. They pointed out an instance of a mosque illegally constructed in public land, however, the government did not take discriminatory actions fearing political backlash, the counsel argued.

Advocate Sai Deepak also contended that the temples constructed at the site are not responsible for floods in the region. However, the court disagreed by claiming that any unauthorised construction will have detrimental effects.

Hearing the petitioner, High Court asked the petitioner to file a detailed affidavit on how the current demolition drive for removing encroachments has been religiously discriminatory.

Shamsuddin kidnapped a minor girl from Dehradun and took her to Ludhiana where he raped her for three months

OpIndia Staff
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Shamsuddin kidnapped a minor girl from Dehradun and took her to Ludhiana where he raped her for three months

Another incident of kidnapping and raping of a minor girl has taken place in Uttarakhand. A youth named Shamsuddin had kidnapped a 16-year old minor girl from Dehradun. He had taken her to many places and was finally found in Ludhiana where he was arrested.

According to a report by Jagran, Shamsuddin is a native of Piran Kaliyar of Haridwar. He was living in Dehradun as he worked there as a mason. Shamsuddin had kidnapped the 16-year old victim in October 2021. On 28th October 2021, the victim’s father had registered a complaint in the Vasant Vihar police station. The station in-charge Naresh Rathaud has informed that a case was registered after this complaint and investigations were started. The police could not locate the accused. The accused had turned his phone off.

As the police followed the case for the next three months, they received the information that the accused is in Ludhiana of Punjab. On Sunday, 6th February 2022, a team of Dehradun police arrested him from Ludhiana in Punjab. During interrogations, the accused has informed that he kept the kidnapped minor girl at various places and raped her for three months. The police station in-charge has informed that charges of rape have been framed against the accused and POCSO will also be applied. Medical check-ups of the accused and the victim are being done.

The number of incidents of Muslim youth kidnapping and raping minor girls, particularly Hindu girls, has been increasing in Uttarakhand. In another similar incident that has happened in the Vaani Vihar area, the accused Muslim youth Sohail has reportedly kidnapped a 14-year old girl and fled away. The Vaani Vihar police station in-charge Amarjeet Singh has informed that the victim’s father has registered a complaint in this case and further investigations are being done.

Congress propaganda on the burqa row gets support from Pakistan again, Shah Mahmood amplifies the misinformation spread by Priyanka Gandhi

OpIndia Staff
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Congress propaganda on the burqa row gets support from Pakistan again, Shah Mahmood amplifies the misinformation spread by Priyanka Gandhi

Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has supported Congress’s propaganda over the Karnataka hijab row. Qureshi on 9th February 2022 through his tweet has amplified the misinformation spread by Priyanka Gandhi.

Priyanka Gandhi had earlier conflated the Karnataka hijab row with women’s rights issues, falsely insinuating that the hijab-clad girls are being denied their ‘constitutional rights’. The reality is that the college administration in Udupi has been trying for weeks to convince the girls to follow the dress code and start attending classes.

It is not the first time that Pakistan has comfortable picked up the Congress party’s line to attack India. In the same fashion, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has taken a thread ahead from Priyanka Gandhi’s tweet.

Qureshi has tweeted, “Depriving Muslim girls of education is a grave violation of fundamental human rights. To deny anyone this fundamental right & terrorize them for wearing a hijab is absolutely oppressive. The world must realize this is part of Indian state plan of ghettoization of Muslims.”

Shah Mahmood Qureshi has peddled an absolute lie saying that Muslim girls in India are being denied their right to education, the same lie that was earlier peddled by Malala too.

No Muslim girl in India is denied education. On the contrary, India has a law for free and compulsory primary education for all children irrespective of their gender, religion, and faith. In the current Karnatak hijab row, the Muslim girls themselves are prioritizing hijab over education.

The issue has emerged only because the Muslim girls are not following the dress codes as prescribed by their respective educational institutions. Shah Mahmood Qureshi, however, has extended the false narrative peddled by the Congress general secretary.

A day before this, a Pakistani journalist was seen propagating similar lies on communal lines. This lie too had been fueled by the Congress party’s leader DK Shivakumar. DK Shivakumar had alleged in his tweet that a boy removed India’s national flag from a flag post and replaced it with a saffron flag. Pakistani handles picked it up soon. However, the claim was a false one. The flag pole was empty and there was no Tricolour on it.

Shiv Sena, RPI and MNS leaders oppose BJP leader Ram Kadam’s demand for Lata Mangeshkar Memorial at Shivaji Park

OpIndia Staff
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Shiv Sena, RPI and MNS leaders oppose BJP leader Ram Kadam’s demand for Lata Mangeshkar Memorial at Shivaji Park

A day after the death of the legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar on February 06, Maharashtra BJP Leader Ram Kadam demanded a memorial be made for the singer at Shivaji Park. However, Kadam’s request sparked a controversy among the political circles in Maharashtra, quite unreasonably, with many parties opposing his demand to have a memorial dedicated to the late singer.

BJP leader Ram Kadam on February 07 wrote to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asking him to erect a memorial for Lata Mangeshkar at the spot where she was cremated. Maharashtra Congress Chief Nana Patole was also seen supporting Kadam over the proposal of a memorial for the Bharat Ratna. However, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut considered it a ripe occasion to take a swipe at his party’s political opponents. Taking an indirect jibe at Kadam’s demand, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut commented, “Some people are demanding a memorial for Lata Didi, there’s no need to involve politics into this.” He further added that a memorial for Lata Mangeshkar was a national issue, asking the Centre to take the initiative to build a memorial to her.

Meanwhile, Ram Kadam wrote separate letters to deputy CM Ajit Pawar and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar asking them to urge Thackeray to agree to his demand. He took on Twitter to ask “Will Maharashtra Govt. respect at least Sharad Pawar’s sentiments if he demands the same too?”

Maharashtra leaders opposing the move

Even as Ram Kadam demanded a memorial to Lata Mangeshkar, several leaders from the Shivsena, Republican Party of India and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navanirman Sena criticised his demand, calling it politicisation of the issue at a time when the nation was in the mourning on the demise of her beloved singer. Shivsena Leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said the demand for the memorial cannot be made when the nation is mourning the singer’s death. “(In this regard), we will do whatever we can, but there is no such plan as of now,” she added. She said, “People like Ram Kadam are making an unnecessary demand when the whole nation is ridden in sadness.”

While arguing that there is no place for a memorial at Shivaji park which is primarily a space for sports activities, MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande turned down the idea for the memorial to Lata Mangeshkar altogether. “Balasaheb (Thackeray) and Lata Didi being cricket lovers would also have wanted Shivaji Park to be dedicated only for sports activities. Earlier, there have been many attempts at encroaching this park in Dadar. Don’t threaten the fate of this park by your politics” he requested.

RPI Leader made a bizarre statement on the issue, stating that Shivaji Park should not be turned into a crematorium.

Balasaheb Thackeray Memorial at Shivaji Park

It is to be noted here that a small-scale memorial for late Balasaheb Thackeray already exists in a part of the ground which is built at the spot where he was cremated. While an elaborate memorial for him is being built at the Mayor’s House, many political leaders visit Shivaji Park every year, to pay their respects to Balasaheb Thackeray on his Birth and Death anniversaries.

Present Day memorial for Shivsena supremo Bal Thackeray at Shivaji Park in Dadar, Mumbai

As of now, the demand to build a similar memorial dedicated to Lata Mangeshkar at Shivaji Park has heated the politics in Maharashtra. From the Shivaji statue at the Arabian Sea to Babasaheb Ambedkar memorial at the Chaitya Bhoomi in Mumbai, the war over keeping legacies of the bygone greats is to continue in the rough and tumble of Maharastra politics.

Kerala Catholic Bishop and five priests arrested for illegal sand mining in Tamil Nadu

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala Catholic Bishop and five priests arrested for illegal sand mining in Tamil Nadu

A Catholic Bishop from Kerala and five priests were arrested in connection with illegal sand mining in Ambasamudram in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli on Tuesday.

According to the reports, Bishop Samuel Mar Irenios and priests George Samuel, Shaji Thomas, Jijo James, Jose Chamakala and Jose Kalaviyal of the Syro-Malankara Diocese of Pathanamthitta were arrested in connection with illegal sand quarrying near the river Thamrabarani.

The smugglers had acquired thousands of tons of sand from these lands and sold them illegally. An FIR was lodged against Manuel George, the owner of the leased land and a Catholic priest in the Guntur Chetty Road area of ​​Kottayam, Kerala, who were involved in this illegal sand smuggling.

In July 2021, the Madurai bench of Madras high court had transferred the case to CB-CID after observing that Manuel George, a resident of Kerala, did not have any land or quarry, however, they obtained permission from the authorities for a stockyard for storing the minerals in Therku Kallidaikurichi village.

Reportedly, the illegal sand quarrying was facilitated by several officials from revenue, mines, police and agriculture departments in the Tirunelveli district. Sabitha, the then Assistant Director of Minerals, has been accused of permitting the sand robbery. Her husband Mohammad Sameer was arrested in Chennai on January 23 in connection with the scam.

The police officials said that Manuel obtained a licence for storing, processing and consuming rough stone, gravel, crusher dust and M-sand in a 300-acre plot of land adjacent to a check dam in South Kallidaikurichi village in Tirunelveli for five years starting November 29, 2019.

The smugglers had obtained permission to mine sand around 300 acres of leased land in the Pottal area on the river banks in Tirunelveli district, as M Sand Quarry. The land is owned by the bishop and the Pathanamthitta diocese, who had given it to Manuel on lease. It is alleged that Manuel George did large-scale mining of river sand near a check dam for the last few years.

In September 2020, the then Ambasamudram Sub Collector had inspected the site and assessed that 27,774 cubic metres of sand had been mined and transported for commercial purposes. The officer had imposed a penalty of Rs. 9.57 crore on the landowners under the Tamil Nadu Mines and Minerals Concession Rules, 1959.

Meanwhile, the 69-year-old Bishop Irenios and 69-year-old Father Jose Chamakala were taken to the Government Medical College Hospital as they claimed to have suffered health problems following their arrest. The others were later produced before a local court.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra loses her cool, intimidates a journalist for asking why is she promoting bikini in schools

OpIndia Staff
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Priyanka Gandhi Vadra loses her cool, intimidates a journalist for asking why is she promoting bikini in schools

On February 9, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra lost her cool when Abhishek Upadhyay, a journalist with TV9 Bharatvarsh, questioned her why she was promoting bikini in schools. The incident took place when Gandhi was addressing the media after launching Congress’s manifesto for Uttar Pradesh. A journalist questioned her about the tweet that she posted in the morning over the hijab controversy in educational institutions. Gandhi was visibly angry with the question and tried to intimidate the journalist. She also tried to make it an issue ‘choice of women’ and while the actual issue is uniform in educational institutions.

During the press conference, Upadhyay asked, “You are saying the elections should be fought on the topic of development, but the tweet you posted in the morning changed the topic from development to hijab in School.” The journalist’s argument did not go well with Gandhi. She said, “Did I start the discussion on hijab? It is the right of every woman. She can wear a bikini, hijab, ghoonghat, saree or jeans. There is no politics in that,” reiterating what she had tweeted earlier in the day.

As Priyanka Gandhi tried to suggest it is a general issue of what women can wear and not uniform in schools and colleges, Upadhyay questioned her back, “But how bikini is relevant to school? It was about the educational institutions.”

Caught red-handed diverting the topic Gandhi tried to intimidate the journalist and said, “You can twist it the way you like. No one has the right to tell a woman what she can wear and what she can’t. I am telling you to remove the scarf. Remove the scarf.” The journalist said he was not in an educational institution but in a press conference, to which Gandhi said, “It does not matter where you are. Do I have the right to tell you what to wear?”

After that, she ended the discussion and moved to the next question.

Priyanka Gandhi’s tweet on hijab controversy

On Wednesday morning, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi posted a tweet in which she said women have the right to wear whatever she wants. The tweet was linked to the hijab controversy that has been happening in Karnataka, where a few Muslim girls demanded they should be allowed to wear hijab in classrooms.

Gandhi said in her tweet, “Whether it is a bikini, a ghoonghat, a pair of jeans or a hijab, it is a woman’s right to decide what she wants to wear. This right is GUARANTEED by the Indian constitution. Stop harassing women.”

Tweet by Priyanka Gandhi. Source: Twitter

There were two major problems with the tweet. The first problem is the inclusion of bikini as the controversy was about an educational institute and not with the dresses that women can wear in general. Secondly, she forgot to consider the fact that the majority of the educational institutions in India, especially schools, have a specific dress code that every student has to follow.

The Karnataka hijab row

A couple of weeks back, a few Muslim girl students from Udupi, Karnataka, started wearing hijab to school. When the administration asked them to remove the hijab, they demanded as it was part of their religious practices, it should be allowed. To mark their protest, Hindu students came to school wearing saffron scarves.

The Education Ministry of the state intervened and issued an order that all students must follow the dress code. The Muslim students filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court challenging the order. Meanwhile, the situation got violent, and there were reports of stone pelting on Tuesday. The state government shut down schools and colleges for three days and asked everyone to maintain peace.

The controversy is being minted by the left-liberal section and fundamentalists who are provoking the Muslim girls not only in the college where controversy erupted but also in other educational institutes to demand permission to attend classes while donning the hijab.

‘Hijab first, books later’: Banners supporting Hijab come up in Beed in Maharashtra

OpIndia Staff
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‘Hijab first, books later’: Banners supporting Hijab come up in Beed in Maharashtra

The burqa row in Karnataka has now spread to other states as well. Banners supporting the burqa were raised in the Beed city of Maharashtra on Tuesday 8th February 2022 in the evening. The banners were removed late in the night after the police intervened in this matter. A local student leader of AIMIM was detained by the police for inquiry in this case. He was released after questioning. The banners were removed late in the night.

The banners supporting Hijab were put up in various places in Beed including Bashir Ganj Chowk, Shivaji Maharaj Chowk, Rajuriwes Complex etc. The banners read “Pahle Hijab, fir Kitab” which means Hijab first, then the book, and “Hijab is our right”, and “Har keemati cheez parade me hoti hai” which means “every precious thing is kept covered”. The banners were erected by Farooq Ilukman, a leader of the MIM student front, in support of the hijab after the Karnataka incident.

Banner supporting Hijab and Burqa at Bashir Ganj Chowk of Beed in Maharashtra
Banners supporting Hijab and Burqa at Bashir Ganj Chowk of Beed in Maharashtra

According to a report by Divya Marathi, at around 7.30 pm on Tuesday 8th February 2022, the police called him for questioning. In answers to the questions, Farooq Ilukman has reportedly said “We follow the sharia. Muslim women have been wearing the burqa for hundreds of years. Sharia law allows Muslim women to do this.”

Divya Marathi report on Beed incidence dated 9th February 2022

He further said “This tradition is being thwarted for no reason. The constitution also gives us this right. This case in Karnataka is discriminatory. The banner was erected to reassure Muslim women who were frightened by the Karnataka incident.”

Posters were removed after police intervention.

The banners raised in the daytime were removed late in the night in presence of the police force. It is notable that Beed is situated right in the middle of the Marathwada region of Maharashtra which once used to be a part of Nizam territory before getting independence on 17th September 1948. All the eight districts of this region are very sensitive in communal angles and have been a safe home for the sleeper cells of various Islamic terrorist organizations. The Mastermind of 26/11 attacks Abu Jundal alias Jabiuddin Ansari, who instructed the terrorists in Taj while he himself sat in Karachi, hails from the same Beed city.

From SIMI to Popular Front of India: Islamic radicalisation in college campuses has been going on for decades

Shashank Bharadwaj
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From SIMI to Popular Front of India: Islamic radicalisation in college campuses has been going on for decades

The Karnataka burqa controversy has taken an unprecedented turn, with radical Islamic elements such as the Popular Front of India and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind having taken direct control over the protests. The radical Islamic outfits are now inciting the Muslim girl students to violate the existing uniform guidelines enforced by the state government.

The Muslim students, backed by the PFI and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, are now accused of vitiating the atmosphere in the educational institutions by disobeying the uniform rules and insisting on wearing the Islamic attire of Burqa inside the classroom.

Earlier, a report revealed how the notorious radical Islamic outfit Campus Front of India (CFI) – the student wing of Popular Front of India and banned radical terror outfit Jamaat-e-Islami Hind counselled Muslim students to orchestrate the Hijab controversy in Karnataka. In the light of events, it was clear that radical Islamic outfits such as CFI and Jamaat were not only attempting to brainwash ordinary Muslim students to display regressive practices in college but also appears that these outfits have been successful in radicalising young Muslims students to stand against the state.

It is pertinent to note that PFI – the parent organisation of the Campus Front of India and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind have often tried their hand in radicalising the Muslim youth, especially in Kerala and Karnataka. The radical Islamic outfit has been less successful in Karnataka comparatively. However, Kerala has become a victim of PFI’s radicalisation drive. It has emerged as the epicentre of radicalisation among Muslim youths, which has resulted in repeated violence against non-Muslims in the state.

PFI, Jamaat being funded for promoting Islam and radicalisation drives in India: Reports

Last year, a Kerala-based journalist had made a sensational disclosure regarding how radical Islamic organisations such as the Popular Front of India and Jamaat-e-Islami are receiving funds to promote Islamism in India. In a Clubhouse discussion, Kerala-based journalist MP Basheer had revealed details about the international funding to advance radical Islam in the country.

In his disclosure, Basheer had said that he had accessed a letter written by Jamaat-e-Islami requesting the King Abdul Aziz University in Saudi Arabia to increase the financial grant to the radical Islamic organisation so that they could create awareness and promote Islamic dress code in Kerala and India. He had further stated that Jamaat had objected to certain Muslim women journalists not wearing hijabs and had stated that Basheer should tell them to wear hijabs.

Further, Basheer had revealed that Jamaat-e-Islami had started a project in India to promote the Islamic dress code for women and had access to funds from King Abdul Aziz University, an Islamic university in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 

The incidents in the last few days in Karnataka indicate a clear direction that the global vested interests have joined hands with the radical Islamic organisations to promote not only radical Islamic values but also create communal harmony in the state. It is also evident from the fact that both PFI and Jamaat-e-Islam had become very active in the recent weeks, which suggests that a meticulous plan had been hatched to instigate Muslim students in the coastal districts of Udupi, Dakshina Kannada to create further chaos, that can be eventually used to radicalise and recruit young Muslims into their organisation.

Popular Front of India and its links to SIMI and Indian Mujhahideen:

The ongoing Hijab controversy and the role of Campus Front of India, Jamaat-e-Islam, makes us recognise the exact modus operandi used by now banned terror outfit Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), the parent organisation of one of the country’s most dreaded terror networks – Indian Mujahideen.

The Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was formed in 1977 at Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, initially as a student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH). It is believed that SIMI was established to renew Jamaat-e-Islami’s older student wing, the Students Islamic Organisation (SIO). Incidentally, SIO has been advising the Muslim students in the ongoing Hijab controversy, as per the admission of Muslim students, along with the PFI. However, SIMI split off from the main organisation due to ideological differences.

SIMI, run by the most fundamentalist and extremist students, worked on the ideas of establishing Sharia and governing the country based on the Quran, propagation of Islam and carrying out “Jihad” for the cause of Islam. The banned terror outfit was against the “western ideals” and rejects secularism, democracy and nationalism. It seeks the restoration of the “khilafat” or caliphate and establishes Dar-ul-Islam (Islamic land) in India by converting the populace.

In addition, SIMI sought to emphasise “ummah”, or the Muslim brotherhood and the need for a Jihad to establish the supremacy of Islam. As a result, the SIMI, a student body, transformed itself into a terrorist outfit to fulfil its intended objective. SIMI became active in the country for the next few decades and carried out some of the deadliest terrorist attacks on Indian soil, including the 2006 Mumbai blasts that killed over 209 people.

Subsequently, the Indian government banned the group in 2001 under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). Nevertheless, SIMI was active for nearly four decades in the country.

The dreaded organisation SIMI is also considered the parent organisation of Indian Mujahideen. Some analysts suggest that IM split off from SIMI, attracting extremist elements, thus becoming the terrorist wing of SIMI. According to Indian intelligence, the IM had members from the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and terrorists Harkat ul-Jihad-e-Islami (HuJI).

Bhatkal, the birthplace of Indian Mujahideen, is just 55 kilometres from Kundapura in the Udupi district, which has become the latest hotspot of the Hijab protests. The dreaded terrorists – Riyaz and Yaseen Bhatkal, hailed from Bhatkal of the Uttara Kannada district, a town often referred to as a ‘terror factory’.

Are PFI and Jamaat-e-Islami following the footsteps of SIMI and Indian Mujahideen?

Popular Front of India, which is now leading the fresh wave of radicalisation in the country, is considered a resurrection of the banned outfit Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). PFI seems to continue the agenda of the terror outfit, perhaps in a new avatar.

The recent events surrounding PFI and Islamic radicalisation in the country, especially in the Southern states, indicates that PFI may have been trying to bring SIMI’s radical Islamic ideas into fruition. By supporting the Hijab protests, the PFI wants to promote the concepts of Sharia instead of following the rules and regulations enforced by a duly elected government that draws legitimacy from the Constitution of India.

Interestingly, the PFI’s former national chairman, Abdul Rehman, was the former national secretary of SIMI, while the organisation’s state secretary, Abdul Hameed, was SIMI’s former state secretary. Most former leaders of SIMI are either identified with PFI and hold various important positions in the radical Islamic organisation. In 2010, the Kerala government had alleged that PFI had direct links with the banned Islamic terrorist organisation Students Islamic Movement of India. 

Ever since it was formed in 2006, the radical Islamic outfit – PFI has been under the radar of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as its members were linked to ISIS modules in Kerala that went on to join the terror outfit in Syria and Iraq. 

According to Indian intelligence officials, the PFI is also suspected of radicalising the masterminds of the 2019 Sri Lankan Easter bombings that killed over 300 people. 

In India, the PFI has been accused of radicalising students and has also been involved in several political killings and religious conversions. According to the NIA, the PFI has a presence in almost 23 states. It is worth mentioning that radical Islamic organisations such as PFI, SDPI and other associated organisations have been under the scanner in UP after the anti-CAA violence triggered in the state last year and this year. In addition, several leaders of the Popular Front of India were also named as accused in the 2020 Bengaluru riots.

PFI members have been frequently found to be indulging in criminal activities, including murder with communal motives. Earlier in January, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had alleged that the PFI raised money through hawala channels for running terror camps in Kerala.

Besides this, it has been accused by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) of being involved in the controversial ‘love jihad’ cases in Kerala. Recently, members of its political arm SDPI were arrested for an ABVP worker’s brutal murder in Kerala’s Kannur.

Recently, PFI members were accused of killing 42-year-old activist Ramalingam. The activist was brutally murdered for opposing forced religious conversions. In the past, the PFI members have been accused of chopping off the hands of a Kerala Professor for allegedly insulting the Islamic Prophet Mohammed. Just a few backs, PFI leader Mohammad Haroon was nabbed by the Kerala Police in connection with the murder of RSS worker Sanjith in Palakkad.

PFI’s aggressive growth in southern states has become a worrying factor, especially in the coastal areas, and the subsequent increase in the radicalisation of Muslim youth is evident in the gradual rise of communal clashes inside the campuses in these areas. The Popular Front of India perhaps assumed that the Hijab controversy would give them more space to radicalise the Muslim youths of this country. However, the counter-protests from civil society and the Hindu students have foiled the plans of PFI.

Going by history, as evident in the Anti-CAA riots in Uttar Pradesh, the PFI may try to stoke more violence on the streets of Karnataka by milking the ongoing Hijab controversy. The state government has to be highly vigilant to prevent any violence in Karnataka and also needs to keep an eye on PFI’s radicalisation drive.

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party worker sticks party sticker on burqa-clad woman’s back

OpIndia Staff
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Lucknow: Samajwadi Party worker sticks party sticker on burqa-clad woman’s back

On February 9, a video of a Samajwadi Party worker went viral on social media platforms in which he was seen pasting a party sticker on the back of a burqa-clad woman. The video was initially shared by one Shahnawaz Ansari on Twitter and went viral within an hour.

The video is said to be from Lucknow West Assembly seat from where SP’s Arman Khan is contesting the election. In the video, SP workers could be seen walking around in a market for the door-to-door campaign. A man wearing a sleeveless brown jacket and white shirt walked by a burqa-clad woman and pasted a party sticker on her back.

The woman felt the touch on her back and turned to check what was happening. He saw the man and looked shocked. The man tried to touch her hand, to which she resisted, and he walked away. The woman then turned back and tried to check if something was on her back but could not reach the sticker. She also decided to change direction and started walking towards the direction from where she was coming. Towards the end of the 11-second video, she was seen asking people on the lane to check her back.

UP Assembly Elections

Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections will be completed in seven phases starting from February 10. The last phase of polling will be held on March 7. The results will be announced on March 10. In the 2017 elections, Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA had won 325 seats out of 403 seats in UP.

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